DGRI spearheads the initiative. Larson said that community partners like Grand Rapids Public Schools and Grand Rapids Whitewater play a big role.

Starting up a downtown resident network and adding more minority and women-owned businesses are two action items on the 2016 list.

Larson said that though most of the boxes aren’t checked off, none of the projects are untouched.

“We can actually vocalize a level of confidence that we are working on every one of these areas.”

DGRI officials said that the list is not the only way they’re measuring progress.

Some things aren’t on that list such as adding diversity at Movies in the Park and rebuilding the gateway entrance downtown at Pearl Street. Both of those are accomplishments Larson highlighted from the past year.

Community investment in the GR Forward mission will be key to keeping it moving.

“We know the destination that we want to get to, but it means that there’s going to be some evolution, there’s going to be some changes in the landscape,” Larson said. “It means that in some cases there’s going to be a little bit of discomfort associated with change and investment, and that’s just going to sort of become a new normal.”

As the beginning of 2017 draws closer, DGRI plans to focus on adding more affordable housing downtown to better diversify the residents that live there.

Larson said that over the next few months DGRI will also put a large effort on breaking ground on the Lyon Square transformation in an effort to make Grand Rapids more of a waterfront city.